Vintage Recipes: Old-Fashioned Food We Still Love

Feeling nostalgic? Do you miss Grandma’s delicious and old-fashioned cooking? Check out these vintage recipes. They’re a blast from the past!

Howdy, y’all! I think you may have noticed by now that I have a ridiculous love for food. Food is something that I can spend hours blabbing about. When people ask me what I like to do for fun, I usually say cooking (and playing volleyball - I have to have something that balances out all the eating I do). I love trying new foods, trying new cooking recipes, and even experimenting with what I’m making! I’ve come a long way since my cheese-and-ice-cream days (when I was a little kid, I would only eat a slice of American cheese followed by a bowl of vanilla ice cream for what seemed like years). It makes sense that I love to cook, though. My dad, paternal grandmother, and paternal great grandmother also love(d) to cook!

I am the owner of two cookbooks from the 1960s. My dad also has some vintage cookbooks from the 1970s that he got from my grandma. She used to be a teacher, and every year they would make a cookbook with recipes. So, he has some pretty nifty vintage cookbooks with local Texas recipes.

Anyway! Recently I was skimming through one of my cookbooks and found a chapter titled “Little Dinners for Saturday Night,” and the first recipe listed was a pheasant dinner. I remember thinking, wow, okay, did not know that pheasant was considered little. It was eye-opening to see how things have changed! To me, a simple Saturday night dinner is a frozen cheese pizza that I can just throw in the oven...

So because I’m in a nostalgic mood today (and because I LOVE food), I’m going to share with y’all some vintage recipes that I found while browsing through my vintage cookbooks and, of course, Pinterest. Let’s get cooking, y’all!

The first recipe I want to start off with is perfect as an appetizer or as a meal on a cool autumn night. I wanted a recipe that had peas as a main ingredient because in the 1950s and 60s, canned vegetables and foods became very popular. This Split Pea Soup is a vintage recipe from Betty Crocker. Just like many split pea soup recipes, this one calls for a ham hock. Cool thing about this recipe is that the ingredient list isn’t too long. If you’re feeling nostalgic for some soup, try this recipe!

In the 50s and 60s, finger foods were all the rage at ladies’ luncheons and Bridge parties. If you’ve read the book T﻿﻿﻿﻿he﻿﻿ H﻿﻿elp or seen the movie, you’ll know what I’m talking about. This Cucumber-Rye Tea Sandwich recipe is actually inspired by The Help. These little sandwiches are perfect for a graduation party, a bridal shower, or anything really! Cucumber-Rye Sandwiches are also a nice and light meal for a hot summer day. Check them out!

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This next food item is the epitome of retro and vintage dishes: Old-Fashioned Apple Pie! This recipe is cool because you don’t have to go to another site to get the ingredients and directions; it’s here on a vintage recipe card! If I’m correct, this apple pie recipe dates back to the 1950s. This looks so delicious and yummy. Imagine how great it would be paired with a heaping scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. This would even be great to make for Thanksgiving dessert!

Although this recipe isn’t inspired by The Help, it makes me think of it! Do y’all remember the scene where Hilly goes to play Bridge at Elizabeth’s house, and she brings her mother? One of the first things Hilly’s mom asks Aibileen for is her Ambrosia Salad! Ambrosia salad is something that screams southern to me. It’s cool, light, fluffy - perfect for a hot Texas day. It’s also not a common menu item anymore! This retro food recipe calls for mandarins, cherries, marshmallows, and Cool Whip, among other things. It’s very old-fashioned and perfect for my list of retro recipes!

Try one of these blast-from-the-past retro #recipes! We promise you'll love 'em!!

What kind of vintage recipe list would this be without something from the TV show that actually inspired this blog post? That’s right, y’all - I’ve included a recipe for an Old Fashioned. When I first started watching Mad Men, I’ll admit, I had no idea what an Old Fashioned was (I was only 19!). After a quick Google search, I realized that Don Draper was basically drinking straight whiskey (cringe). However, it doesn’t surprise me that Draper’s choice of drink was something tough and hard to swallow (just like everything else in his life). If you can handle whiskey (I’ve heard some people say it’s actually a smooth liquor) and are of legal drinking age, pour yourself a glass and try this recipe!

Remember how I told y’all I stumbled upon a recipe for pheasant in one of my vintage cookbooks? This is actually a picture of that recipe that I took a few weeks before I knew I was going to write about retro dishes. This recipe comes from a vintage Betty Crocker cookbook that was published in 1964. I’d tell y’all the name of this antique recipe book, but the cover is actually no longer attached to it, which is okay because I got it for 50 cents on Amazon a few years ago. I just thought it was so crazy that pheasant was considered a “little dinner for Saturday night,” but I have to remember that things have dramatically changed in the past 50+ years!

Don’t go “bacon” my heart - try at least one of these blast-from-the-past retro recipes! Step back into the 50s and 60s and see why these recipes and retro meals were so popular back then. Please share these vintage recipes with your friends, and comment about which vintage food recipe you can’t wait to try!

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Hey, y’all! My name is Katherine. My hobbies include playing volleyball, cooking new and interesting foods, and watching fictional medical TV shows. When I’m not busy with work or school, I enjoy hanging out with my cat, Layla. I love chapstick, gum, and everything Disney!

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